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What should I do? “God, what do I do?” I whispered.
Get her to the bathroom and keep her awake.
I was not as strong as either of my athletic sisters, but I was still a Barnes woman. I’d traipsed through meadows and swum in the creak and cleaned horse stalls. I could do this.
I wedged an arm around her waist and brought her to the edge of the chair. Her head lolled from side to side, but she was still awake. If she fell asleep, it might be forever.
I took her by the shoulders and shook her. Her neck seemed to have lost all muscle. “Listen to me, Lena. You have to get up. Walk around with me.”
“I’m too sleepy. You go ahead.” She mumbled this under her breath. Did she know it was me or where she was? Or what she’d done to herself?
I scrambled to my feet and I yanked her up with enough force that she opened her eyes. She peered at me and let out a soft whine, no louder than a kitten who had her tail stepped on. “Addie Barnes. Too pretty to compete with. Too perfect for James.” Perfect? Did she mean perfectly suited or too perfect for James? Never mind. It didn’t matter. I must keep her from dying.
Holding on to her waist, I dragged her around the room. “Tell me a story,” I said. “About Carl. What’s he look like?”
This seemed to perk her up a little because she answered me. “His face is browned from the sun and his neck, too. Sometimes I see a little glimpse of his skin under his collar and I like to touch him there. His skin is almost always warm, like a blanket by the fire. Do you know what I mean?”
“Yes, I do. It’s probably you who makes him warm,” I said. “Because he loves you.”
“He does love me. He begged me to run away with him. But where would we go, I said? He has all those people to take care of, and I have no money of my own.”
“People?”
“Yes, all the money he makes goes to his mother. All these sisters and brothers, like you. They’re hungry, he says. They need him. Just like James, he has to take care of everyone.” She wasn’t completely making sense but at least she was talking, still fighting for life.
“You are going to be fine,” I said. “You’re going to be, and then we’re going to find Carl and help him and his family.”
“You’d do that?” Lena asked, slurring her words.
The door opened and my mother and Lizzie burst into the room. Lizzie carried a tray with a teapot and a cup. Shortly thereafter, Mrs. Wu appeared, winded from the hike up two floors. Small and shriveled with a slight stoop to her shoulders, but her dark eyes were as bright and vigorous as they had always been.
“Good girl, Addie love,” Lizzie said. “Keeping her upright.”
Delphia arrived, also breathless. “I’ve called Theo. He’s on his way but he said to go ahead, Mrs. Wu. That he trusts you.”
“Yes, yes. We brought tea,” Mrs. Wu said. “For stomach. Make her throw up.”
“I knew you’d have something.” A surge of hope filled me. “We have to save her. She’s going to have a baby.”
Mama exchanged a look with Lizzie and Mrs. Wu that only women who had been friends for over twenty years can do. A silent language between mothers who together had raised seven Barnes children, Li and Fai Wu, Florence Strom, and the Depaul boys. I had a sudden memory of all of us down at the creek for a picnic. I’d been about four, I think, and we were all there together. All the ruffians together, laughing and splashing about in the water, eating Lizzie’s picnic food as if we were half starved. For that afternoon, everything had been perfect. No one was sick. No one had had their heart broken. We had not yet sent my brothers off to fight in a war halfway around the world. It must have been such a joy to our mothers that day to have us all there, safe and happy.
“A baby?” Lizzie said under her breath. “Not with James, then?”
“No. She’s in love with one of her father’s gardeners.” Delphia said. “Mr. Masters knows. And that’s why she needed to get married so fast.”
Mama plucked at the front of her blouse as the truth of it all fell into place. “Yes, once I learned the truth, well, it made sense. All the rushing and manipulation.” Her brown eyes darkened a shade as she touched her fingers against Lena’s cheek. “You poor darling girl. All alone.”
The life seemed to be seeping from Lena. Without warning, she slumped against me. Her body weight almost knocked me over. My sister rushed to the other side of Lena and together we held her upright.
“Take her into the bathroom,” Mrs. Wu said. “Near toilet, but we will need a bucket, too.”
“I’ll get one,” Lizzie said, speeding ahead to grab one from the hallway pantry.
“How will we get her to drink it?” Delphia asked Mrs. Wu.
“We will spoon it in her mouth if we must,” Mrs. Wu said. “This tea is very strong.”
What was this potion that made people empty their stomach? Someone really needed to get Mrs. Wu to write these things down, but that would have to be addressed another day. How did she have it down there, ready for use? I’d have to ask her about that later.
